HENRIETTA AND THE DAY OF THE IGUANA

by Winifred Rosen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1978

The title is a tip-off. Though Henrietta is supposed to be the uncivilized little tomboy once characterized as Henrietta, the Wild Woman of Borneo (1974), this first-person anecdote has echoes of that affected, blasÉ tone of trendy older juveniles--with perhaps a dash of Eloise thrown in Disgruntled about being dragged along on a shopping jaunt, Henrietta objects to trying on ""this dress that feels like it was cut out of crepe paper and is too ugly for words""--while sister ""Evelyn, on the other hand, has found herself a velvet jumper which fits so well my mother simply has to buy it even though it costs a fortune."" Back on the escalator, ""I'm the only one without a package""--because all Henrietta wants, she decides on the spot, is an iguana. The desire, though, lasts only until her father takes her to a pet store and acquaints her with an actual iguana. The joke's on Henrietta, and with her father's help (""Well I wanted to keep this a secret, but the fact is, Henrietta, everyone's an idiot sometimes""), she takes it well. Her smart-aleck telling will probably strike many as refreshing, and Chorao's appealing tousled depiction does much to reinforce the wild woman image.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Four Winds

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1978

Categories: CHILDREN'S